Operators vital to Namibia’s conservancy projects, minister says

Environment and tourism minister Indileni Daniel says many conservancies lack the capital and expertise to manage awarded concessions, often turning to the ministry for help in securing operators to finance, develop and run the projects.

Daniel said this in parliament last week while responding to questions raised by Rodrick Likando, a member of the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), on the issue of concessions.

According to the minister, the tender process is competitive, and bidders strive to give the highest offer in terms of concession fees.

“Each bidder will offer a different percentage of their net turnover as the concession fee. The amount offered by bidders is then used in the evaluation of proposals," she said.

Daniel added that as a guide, the ministry uses the regional benchmark.

Bidders should not offer less than 8% of net turnover for lodge developments and 6% of net turnover for campsite developments.

“It is worth noting that the operators will invest a substantial amount of capital into the project," she added.

Operators must recover their investment and earn a return before the concession ends. They also support conservancies through jobs and social projects. When the concession expires, all infrastructure reverts to the state for conservancy use.

“As in the case of Hobatere Lodge, conservancies become 100% owners of the concession asset when the concession contract with the operator expires," she said.

Support in place

She added that the ministry has drawn up a compliance framework to which all conservancies and operators are subjected.

Concession fee payments, the number of jobs created and all social investments are monitored using this framework.

She also highlighted that the ministry is already engaged in supporting conservancies and will continue to do so.

“We consistently encourage conservancies to resolve land issues with individual families amicably and out of court."

The ministry also continues to engage external partners to provide financial support to conservancies.

She noted that the ministry authorised the establishment of the Community Conservation Fund of Namibia.

"There is no need to establish a dedicated unit as proposed by the honourable member. The ministry already has a unit called the community-based natural resources management unit, which works closely with conservancies on matters affecting them,” she said.

“No officials are permitting illegal settlements in conservancies. Such settlements are initiated by conservancy members themselves or by communities in these areas," Daniel said.

The drivers of these actions include the need for grazing land, new homesteads, floods, drought, and in some cases, attraction to water points provided for wildlife by the ministry or conservancies.

"In such circumstances, individual families claim to have previously lived in those areas, thereby creating conflicts,” Daniel added.

The minister stressed that concessions on state land are vital to Namibia and support the wider economy.

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